For those of you visiting for the first time, we are a group of bloggers from all over the world and we get together once a month to share our projects and traditions from each of our countries. This month we are going to focus on Christmas traditions in Greece. Let’s get started because I have lots to share with you.
Christmas season starts with the onset of St Nicholas day on December 6th and continues thru the first day of Christmas, right up to the Epiphany, January 6th, the 12th day of Christmas. It is an ongoing celebration here in Greece.
Santa Claus
Here in Greece we call our Santa, Agios Vasileios, or Vasilis. He is the bringer of gifts and he comes on New Year’s Eve not on Christmas. He would be the Greek equivalent of Saint Nick. A kindly man who helped the poor and needy, he is also a saint and one of the three Holy Hierarchs. Unlike Santa, he is not jolly and plumb but tall and thin, with a black beard.
Of course nowadays, the children don’t think of the saint when they think of presents but of the jolly old man in a suit. For short we call him Ai Basili.
We also have a Saint Nicholas who is the patron saint of the sailors. But we celebrate him on December 6th. In our town that’s a big deal because we are a coastal town with a strong connection to the sea.
So if we don’t open present on Christmas day what do we do? Why we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ. We go to church in the morning and then settle down to a feast for lunch, usually Turkey or pork.
In the evening, we visit the homes of the friends and family who are celebrating their name days. In this case it would be Emmanuella, Manolis, Christos, Christina, and Hrisoula. Before the crisis, the tradition was to go out to the Bouzoukia and party the night away. But now we mostly stay home or visit friends.
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The Christmas Tree
In Greece, the Christmas tree did not exist until recently. In years past, it was the sailboat that was decorated with lights. Greece is a nautical country with thousands of miles of coastline and it was only natural that boats took center stage.
However it is with great difficulty that I find decorated boats these days. This one was in a bookstore window.
I had photographed this one last year at a local store. They are so pretty.
Currently, the trees have become a tradition. They’re not as prevalant as in other countries but you will find one, even if it’s small, in most homes. And they are prominently displayed in the town squares.
Goblins
The Goblins or Kalikantzari are ugly elves that live deep in the earth. They are very jealous of us earth folks and spend all the year witling away at the tree that is holding up the earth. On Christmas Eve, they climb up to the earth because they are sure that the earth will topple over and they don’t want to get trampled. This is also the beginning of winter solstice when the sun does not move.
And so for the 12 days of Christmas they create havoc by going into people’s houses through the chimney, stealing food, and making touble. They are not evil but mischievous and stupid. In the villages, fireplaces are lit to keep them away. Another way to deter them is to place a colander at the front of the house. They will spend the whole night counting the holes and when morning arrives they’ll hide because they hate the sunlight.
On January 6th the sun starts to move again and so they must go into hiding. Once below they see that the Earth tree has regrown and they will start from the beginning to cut it down again.
On January 6th, the Epiphany, the priests come into the houses and bless them thus ridding them of any evil.
The Opening of Presents
In Greece the presents are opened on New Year’s Day. Since Saint Vasilis is our “Santa Claus” it is only natural that he should bring the gifts on the day we celebrate him.
Now this for me was a bit of a snag. You all know I was raised in the US and have alwasys opened the gifts on Christmas Day. I have many fond memories of staying up half the night gift wrapping presents for family. It just seems unnatural to me to have Christmas without presents. When we moved to Greece I simply stayed with this tradition. It also gave the kids more time to play with their toys before going back to school.
Christmas Carols
The Christmas Carols or Kalanta have a special place in Greek life. On the day before Christmas, the children get up early and with a “trigono” or Triangle go around the neighborhood singing the Kalanta. Tradition dictates that they ask before singing. The children are given money or sweets in return for their efforts.
We have many Kalanta, one for each holiday. They are traditionally sung on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and on the eve of the Epiphany or Day of the Lights (January 6th). In addition, each region in Greece has its own version of the Kalanta, sung with a topical flavor. Kalanta singing dates back to Ancient Greece. How’s that for longevity?
Desserts and Sweets
Melomakarona are cookies that are drenched in a honey syrup! My friend Katerina of Culinary Flavors has a great recipe for this most delectable of treats.
We also have a Christopsomo which is a bread with a cross carved into the top crust before it is baked. For New Year’s we have the Vasilopita cake. A coin is inserted into the cake prior to baking. Once the cake is cut, the person who gets the coin will have good luck for the rest of the year.
The Epiphany
The Epiphany on January 6th marks the end of Christmas celebrations. On this day, the day of Christ’s baptism, after the church ceremony is over, everyone goes to the shore and the priest throws a cross into the sea. The most vigorous of young men will dive in to retrieve the cross and be blessed by the priest. This is not as bad as it seems since waters are not that cold here in Greece.
I want to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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Hi Mary, I do like Christmas here, it’s far less commercial than in the UK. We too had the minor problem of whether Father Christmas came on Christmas Eve or New Years Eve and we stuck with Christmas Eve. Telling the children that Father Christmas had to deliver on two different nights to make it possible to get to everyone. Luckily they had a mix of friends, with some also receiving gifts at Christmas.
When we first lived here there was one shop that sold Christmas decorations and our tree was a branch as trees weren’t a thing. I do like the traditional boats and wish we had bought one years ago as they are so expensive to buy now.
My kitchen is in the process of being revamped (bad timing hubby), but when it is I am hoping to have a go at making melomakarona and kourambiedes…. Which seem to be the only thing we have left on the supermarket shelves at the moment!
Kala Xristougenna!
xx
Wow that is a lot of celebrating. Love the pictures. Some of those make my mouth water. We just finished up a giant cookie decorating party last Saturday. Other than Christmas eve and my sons birthdays which bookend Christmas, that is the most “partying” that we do this season.
You know how to do it up mary! Wonderful to read about all the lovely, festive traditions you enjoy. I think I’ll be copying that cookie recipe ;).
XXX
A super post, Mary!!!!! It is good for the bloggers of other countries to learn about our traditions!
Thank you for this interesting post. Children in Slovenia received gifts three times: from St.Nikolai on 6th, from Santa Christmas on 24th and from slovenian Ded Moroz on 31st.
A sailboat decorated instead of a tree? ha! Not that is interesting! Guess that would be a lot of fun too 🙂
I love to see what everyone is making in different parts of the world. This is such a refreshing idea my dear friend.
Hugs
Maria
Mary! So many traditions. Astounded that Christmas isn’t celebrated on Christmas, but instead NYear’s Eve. And Santa is so different. And you decorate boats instead of trees! All so interesting!
May you have a happy and blessed Christmas Mary!
I throughly enjoyed this post. I must say I wanted to reach in and have a cookie or two. They look so good. It was interesting to read about the traditions. There is a city close to me called Tarpon Springs and it is a big event to watch the teenagers dive for the cross for the annual Epiphany celebration. Does the church hold the same event in your town?
It is interesting to learn about Christmas in Greece and see the many differences and similarities. I love the idea of decorating boats! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I didn’t know that about gifts on New Year. I can see how that would be a real change from what we are used to
Mollyxxx
Thank you so much for sharing all these holiday celebrations. It is so interesting to hear all the different ways every one celebrates the holidays.
Wow, what an absolutely wonderful way to celebrate Christmas through your international blogging group! I have never been to Greece, and if God is willing, I can cross it off of my (very long) travel bucket list. I enjoyed experiencing Christmas through your post! Wishing you a most joyful “Buon Natale” (that’s “Merry Christmas” in my native Italian language).
Baci e’ un abbraccio,
Roz
How interesting to hear about Christmas traditions in Greece. It would feel really odd not doing presents on Christmas… though maybe kind of nice too!
It is fascinating to learn about different Christmas Traditions and I loved reading this Mary
Really loved the way you described everything! Thanks for spreading out the word of Greek Holidays! Merry Christmas!
I so enjoyed reading this post, Mary. Greece certainly is filled with Christmas Traditions. You had me at bakery in every neighborhood!!! The tradition I found the most odd…ahem…interesting is Kalikantzari. It’s like a holiday April’s fools. Enjoy the festivities and Merry Christmas to you and yours! xo
This was so fun to read since Gv and I just learned about Christmas in Greece during our Shepherd’s journey. I was worried that I might not have included all the right info in my kit, but I was happy to see that I pretty much mentioned everything you shared (although mine is more a list, without all of your amazing commentary!) I loved seeing all the photos you posted and hearing all the first-hand details of everything! We’re right down the road from Tarpon Springs, FL, so we have lots of diving-for-the-cross hoopla over here, too!
Hi Mary,
What a wonderful blog, love it!
Ha, I can relate to you about the opening of presents, we too keep to the tradition of opening them on the 25th, a great bonus for my children when they were young, they had Christmas times two!
Susan.
x
Hello Mary,
it’s interesting to see how thing differ.
I’m born and raised in Belgium. Gifts (i.c. toys and things for kids) come with “Sinterklaas” on the 6th od December. No gifts on Christmas Eve nor Day and on the 1st of January you’ll only get a present (mostly money) from your godparents (and give them a gift). On Christmas Eve we always had a lovely (and oppulent) meal and unveiled Baby Jesus at midnight.
In Germany (at least where I live) they do not know “Sinterklaas” but there are loads of presents to be opened on Christmas Eve and you “have” to visit your relatives either on the 25th or on the 26th to give and receive even more presents (URGH!). There’s an oppulent meal on Christmas Day (either at home or at your parents’) too. Most people around here only put their Christmas Tree up on the 24th and it stays till either 6th of January or till February. There’s a tradition of baking loads of Christmas biscuits too as well as having an Advent calendar and a Advent wreath (lighting a candle on each Advent Sunday).
I do like the Advent Season, but I always put the tree up on the first Sunday in Advent. And I thoroughly dislike the many “have-to”s. Takes away the Christmas magic I love so much!
Have a lovely day,
Marjan
Εκπληκτική αναφορά στα έθιμα μας Μαίρη μου… έτσι για να μαθαίνουν και οι εκτός Ελλάδας τι γίνεται μέσα στην Ελλάδα. Γέλασα πολύ με την αναφορά σου στα μπουζούκια !!! Καλή εβδομάδα Μαίρη μου
How interesting to find other traditions Mary. I have never heard about those Goblins, and the ship decorated make so much sense being Greece a coastal country.
The Kourambiedes looks yummy, I’ll pop over Zografia to get the recipe, it could be nice to try food from other countries.
I wish you have a Merry Christmas with your lovely family, my friend
How fun! I love learning about celebrations in other countries. Thanks for sharing.
Shoo Mary, that’s a lot of celebrating and so many interesting traditions too. Strangely enough the Herero people of South West Africa also believe that little people live under the roots of the spirit tree, but I don’t think they’re nasty though. I love the idea of the children playing the triangle and singing the Kalanta. That must be such a pretty sound to wake up to on the day before Christmas.
I must say we normally open our presents on Christmas eve, so we can celebrate the true meaning of Christmas on the 25th. The only problem is that all the kids are playing with their toys during the Christmas service, LOL. Wishing you a beautiful and loving Christmas in Greece.
That’s a great read Mary! I love Christmas morning in the church and then a warm bowl of chicken soup! That’s our ethimo in Chalkidiki. And on the 2nd day of Christmas we grill the, whole, pig we have bought and sing and dance and of course have kourabiedes and melomakarona. We also make our own pork sausages, which we let dry and do not have any of them before Epiphany. Thank you Mary!
Mary, I love hearing about your traditions in Greece. The elves sound like little stinkers huh? I thought it was interesting about setting a colander out so they would count the holes and get distracted, haha. I bet your kids were glad to open presents according to the traditions you grew up with so they would have more time to play with their toys. 😉 Thanks for sharing your customs with us! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas dear friend!!
Wonderful post, Mary. Love all the wonderful traditions, especially the decorated boats. Pinned and shared
So interesting Mary, thanks for sharing your Greek traditions. I love the original decorated boat idea!! Merry Christmas to you. 🙂
Mary your Christmas traditions are so interesting and I think I’d love to spend Christmas in Greece! The elf story is so funny and so unique, I have never heard of it before! I really like the decorated ship idea, it would be great for us here too!
Mary I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all your traditions. As you know, I am fascinated with Greece and Italy.
Mary, what an interesting post! Sounds like Greece has a lot of Christmas Traditions, and I love hearing about the different traditions.
It’s funny how you can leave a colander out for the mischievous goblins and that keeps them busy til them sun comes up. They really sound like little pest.
Thanks for sharing and have a Merry Christmas!
I really enjoyed reading about the Christmas traditions in Greece. Thank you for sharing!
Mary, this is so cool. I had no idea that Greece celebrated in this way. I love how drawn out it is, over a month, and that there are so many stories and so much symbolism to the Holiday Season.
The mischievous elf story is fun. I love that they are thwarted each year, and I would be surrounding my house with colanders! LOL
I also like how you have merged your traditions with those of Greece, I hope that you and your family had a wondrous Christmas and have a blessed New Year.